


Caught In The Storm

by firstdegreefangirl



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Bobby is confused but lets his idiot children go play in the rain, Eddie comforts him, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Height Differences, Hugs, M/M, Rain, it's not obvious but definitely alluded to, mildy depressed Buck, that kind of ends up being the point of the whole thing, title from a Smash song, well forced height differences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23890165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firstdegreefangirl/pseuds/firstdegreefangirl
Summary: Buck and Eddie are close enough to the same height that sometimes they have to get creative when one of them needs shelter from a storm.
Relationships: Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 263





	Caught In The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to some wonderfully terrible influences in the Buddie discord, I started this just after 1 a.m., and it's just shy of 3:30 as I'm posting. What does that mean? Mostly that this hits a level of emotional softness I don't usually indulge in when I'm well rested. But I love how it turned out, so maybe I'll try this more often ...
> 
> Enjoy!  
> xoxo

Eddie could tell as soon as Buck walked into the station that he was having a rough day. When he asked what had happened, Buck just rolled his eyes. 

“Spilled my coffee. So I figured I’d just stop and pick one up on the way in. But I got stuck in traffic and didn’t have time.” He grabs a breakfast burrito from the tray Bobby left sitting on top of the stove, but before he’s even taken the first bite, the alarm sounds and he sighs, stuffing half of down in one mouthful as he jogs toward the fire pole. 

When they’re in the truck, Eddie lets his feet stretch into Buck’s legroom, bumping their knees together. Everyone knows they’re dating, not that they’d hidden it very well before they’d disclosed, but there’s just not a lot of room for physical intimacy between turnout gear and cramped fire engine seats. So he settles for resting their legs together and smiling softly when Buck looks up at him. 

A fire in a high-rise apartment building is never an easy call, even on the best of days. Today is far from the best of days, though, which the universe proves yet again when the top floor caves in before Eddie and Buck are done clearing the bottom stories. It’s stable enough for them to finish, but there’s an added sense of urgency now. Thankfully, there’s no one in any of the units, so they’re able to get out quickly. But Buck snags his pants on a nail sticking out of the doorframe as they leave, tearing a hole in the leg of them as he steps outside. 

Into the pouring rain. 

Eddie watches him look from the rip in his pants up to the sky and drop some of the air out of his shoulders as he picks up the fire hose to help finish extinguishing the flames. The rain helps their cause, but also means that everyone is soaked clear through their gear when they climb back onto the rig to ride back to the station. 

Buck drags his feet shedding the turnout, shuffles into the locker room for a dry set of clothes. As soon as he’s changed, Eddie watches him step back into the common area and start scanning the room. When his gaze lands on Eddie, he brightens a little bit – but not much – and closes the space between them. 

Eddie sees him coming and opens his arms, expecting a hug. He’s not expecting they way Buck curls into him, though, fisting his hands in the back of Eddie’s shirt and pushing his face into his neck. 

“Can we go outside?” He whispers into Eddie’s shoulder, but Eddie hears the words. He also hears the meaning beneath them, and knows what Buck is really asking for. 

“Sure, baby.” He runs his fingers up and down Buck’s back, then reaches for his hand and steps back just far enough that they’ll be able to manage the stairs. 

He’s steering Buck toward the open garage door when Bobby intercepts them, rounding the corner of the rig, fresh from counting inventory before the next call comes in. 

“What’re you guys going outside for?” He looks between the two men and the heavy rain falling from the dark, ominous clouds. 

Buck looks at his feet, leaning closer to Eddie, who takes it upon himself to answer for them both. 

“Buck’s stressed. I need to hug him.” 

Bobby stares at him incredulously, and flicks his eyes back to the storm. 

“And you can’t do that inside because …" 

“He’s not shorter than me.” Eddie says it like it explains everything, because in his mind – and Buck’s – it does. Bobby rolls his eyes but doesn’t bother questioning it. 

“You know it’s raining?” 

There’s no way for them not to know, considering that they were standing out in it not half an hour ago, and can still hear the pounding of the rain against the pavement, but Eddie raises his eyebrows, realizing it all over again. 

“Oh, you’re right.” He squeezes Buck’s arm softly. “I’ll go grab hoodies. Wait here?” 

Buck nods and steps back, leaning against the wall so he doesn’t have to support his own weight while Eddie is gone. 

He hurries back to the locker room, knowing that there’s a spare sweatshirt in his locker so he won’t have to bother opening Buck’s as well. He’s back downstairs as quickly as he can be, passing Bobby on the stairs and ignoring the confused look he gets from his captain. 

Back in the garage, he helps Buck pull one of the sweatshirts over his head, tugging it down and running his fingers gently along Buck’s ribs. Buck shivers lightly and shifts his weight between his feet, leaning back against Eddie as soon as his own sweatshirt is on. 

Together, they step out into the rain, pretending not to notice how the cold droplets sting against the bits of skin that are still uncovered. Eddie holds an arm around Buck’s waist as he guides them both toward the end of the driveway, stepping sideways into the muddy grass. It squelches under their shoes, and he hides his grimace, lest Buck think he has a problem with providing whatever comfort he can when he needs it. 

When the get to the end of the grass, Eddie steps forward onto the top ledge of the curb, guiding Buck backwards to stand in the gutter. Water rushes against and around his feet, and his sneakers must be soaked through pretty much instantly, but he doesn’t say anything. 

He just leans forward, shuffling his feet until his toes are butted right up against the face of the curb and wrapping his arms around Eddie’s waist. 

Eddie pulls Buck closer, holding him around his shoulders and tucking his face into his chest. His chin lands on Buck’s head and he feels him let out a shuddery breath. Buck's hands are tangled in the back of his hoodie, and he twists his head back and forth until Eddie figures out what he’s trying to achieve and reaches up with one hand to pull Buck’s hood back far enough that his chin rests on his hair, no more fabric separating them. 

He focuses on taking deep breaths, hoping that Buck will absorb some of his calm energy. That’s why they’re out here, after all: so Eddie can get just enough of a height advantage that Buck is totally enveloped in their hug. One of his arms fastens more tightly around Buck’s shoulders, fingers wrapping around his bicep as the other hand starts rubbing gentle lines up and down his back. 

Buck shudders again, giving in to a gentle shiver that could just as easily be from the chill of the rain as it is from the stress he’s endured today. 

“I know, _cariño_." Eddie murmurs quietly as Buck’s hands slide from his waist to tuck into the back pockets of his uniform pants. 

Sometimes, when they’re not standing in public view, it’s a move Buck makes with a very specific agenda. There’s nothing sexual about it now, though, nothing in the way he pulls Eddie’s hips tight against his abdomen that makes either of them think about anything but standing right here. It’s just a way for him to get Eddie even closer, to fold himself even more completely into the embrace. 

They’re pressed together from Buck’s forehead to his knees, their bodies only separating where Buck’s legs have to bend back to accommodate the dip of the curb. He’s still shaking lightly, but Eddie can feel the tension seeping out of his shoulders the longer they stand together. 

Eddie shifts a little bit, adjusting his grip on the soaking wet fabric of Buck’s sweatshirt to squeeze him a little more firmly, trying to infuse the moment with all the love and care he feels for Buck, a silent thanks for the way Buck trusts him. 

Because that’s what this is, really. It’s Buck trusting Eddie enough to catch him when he feels like everything is falling apart. Trusting Eddie not to say he’s overreacting about a spilled mug, or a hole in his pants. Eddie knows what a privilege it is to hold Buck’s heart in his hands like this, and it’s something he never wants to take for granted. 

The rain is slowing, the downpour giving way to a drizzle that fades into a fine mist as the clouds part and the first beams of new sunlight shine on them. Eddie feels Buck relax his grip, fingers going slack against his back, but neither of them step back or shift away. 

He tilts his face down to rest his lips against the top of Buck’s head. It’s not quite a kiss, but it could become one if either one of them had just a little bit more energy to expend on the moment. They don’t, though, so it’s not a kiss. Just a gentle shift, a small change in their closeness that doesn’t reduce it by even a degree. Buck smiles against his chest, and Eddie feels it through every layer of clothing, right down to his core. 

They stay just like that, tangled up in each other and the returning warmth of the world as the storm passes. 

Because the storm always passes, the sun always comes back. And Eddie is always there until it does, shielding Buck from whatever it is that’s falling onto him, no matter how many rainy days are in their future. 

And that’s something he never wants to take for granted. 

**Author's Note:**

> I did it! Hope this did the prompt channel justice. Y'all know what the buttons down there are for.  
> xoxo


End file.
